A neurologic symptom or symptom complex caused by cerebral ischemia or hemorrhage is commonly called a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), or stroke. The cardinal clinical features are sudden or subacute onset and (except for subarachnoid hemorrhage) focal neurologic deficit. Depending on when the patient is seen and the underlying cause, the deficit may be stable, progressive, or completely resolved. Except for these common features, cerebrovascular diseases are a very diverse group of disorders that are further classified according to etiology, location, and duration of symptoms.
Cerebrovascular diseases are subdivided into ischemic events and cerebral hemorrhages, with many etiologies for each (Table 55.1). Ischemic events are further classified according to whether symptoms occurred in the carotid or vertebrobasilar distribution (Table 55.2) and by the duration of symptoms. Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) seldom last more than a few minutes and never more than 24 hours. In ischemic stroke, the neurologic deficit has been present more than 24 hours and may be progressive, stable, or resolving.
Copyright © 1990, Butterworth Publishers, a division of Reed Publishing.